Interview Assessment #2

Name of Professional: Michael Schornstein

Professional/Title: Mentor/Advisor/Coach

Business/Company: Semi-Retired - Mentor at numerous accelerators and serves on advisory

boards of various companies

Date of Interview: 10/15/21

Assessment:

So far, I have conducted 5 interviews with 4 professionals. Mr. Cohen, the first

professional I met with, had asked me if I had any unasked questions and would like a follow-up

interview, so I ended up conducting a second interview with him. I have scheduled two more

interviews with two other professionals, so I will eventually have interviewed 6 different

professionals. This assessment, however, is about my second interview, which was exactly one

week ago with Mr. Michael Schornstein. Mr. Schornstein is semi-retired and works as a mentor

for numerous entrepreneurship accelerator programs and serves on the advisory board of

numerous companies. His work is not limited to the medical field nor does he have formal

training in the medical field, but he has worked as a mentor for multiple healthcare startups,

which is why I decided to contact him.

After discussing his work, I asked him about how his college education was important in

his entrepreneurial journey. Mr. Schornstein, who has a bachelor’s degree in history and an

MBA, told me that he felt his college education was not the most important factor in pursuing an

entrepreneurial career path. He explained that he feels that to be a successful entrepreneur, one
must have a particular type of mindset. A successful entrepreneur will have a “driver behavior”,

which means that they are able to overcome criticism and failure. He said that many highly

successful serial entrepreneurs exhibit this type of behavior, and it is this intrinsic nature that

allows them to be successful. Mr. Schornstein initially started in corporate positions at various

companies, and believes it was this mindset of his that allowed him to climb the corporate ladder

and eventually leave the corporate world to become an entrepreneur.

Next, I asked Mr. Schornstein about what he felt made the field of medical

entrepreneurship different from other fields of entrepreneurship. He explained that he feels

medical entrepreneurship differs because the needs that medical entrepreneurs aim to address are

much more significant and potentially life-changing when compared to other fields. Furthermore,

medical innovations can improve the productivity of those afflicted and reduce the insurance

costs on the government. Because most of the products in the health field revolve around solving

a need, Mr. Schornstein feels very optimistic about the healthcare field. Furthermore, working

with health entrepreneurs is very rewarding, as one is able to firsthand make a positive impact in

the lives of many other people.

After that, I asked Mr. Schornstein about the importance of clinical testing and patent

protection. Not including software, he feels patents are instrumental in the success of a business.

A business must have an intellectual property strategy, of which patents are a very important

component. This is not just important to be successful over one’s competitors, but also to attract

investors, who are more likely to invest in a business that has a strong portfolio of patents. On

the topic of clinical testing, Mr. Schornstein detailed how clinical testing is important even in

products that do not require safety testing because it is important to show that the product works.

This is important to attract investors who are more convinced that a business is worth investing
in. He also explained that clinical testing is important in getting insurance companies to provide

coverage for one’s product. No insurance coverage means that only wealthy patients can afford

an entrepreneur's device, which is not beneficial to society.

We concluded the interview with some discussion on my college plans and other

questions that Mr. Schornstein asked me about myself. I felt our interview was very enlightening

and I was glad that I was able to ask Mr. Schornstein some different questions than what I asked

Mr. Cohen, although I got different answers and perspectives on even the questions I asked both

professionals. Overall, I feel this interview has expanded my knowledge and perspectives about

entrepreneurship, which I am sure will be helpful in my entrepreneurial journey.